Daily Number

$21M

January 22, 2018

New Jersey workers stand to lose $21 million in tips a year under a proposed federal Department of Labor (DOL) rule making it legal for employers to pocket their workers' tips as long as they pay those workers the minimum wage, according to a new report released this week by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

The proposed rule, which was unveiled in December, rescinds portions of longstanding DOL regulations that prohibit employers from taking tips. New Jersey has an estimated 140,000 tipped workers, and they are more likely than nontipped workers to live in poor households and lack any type of health insurance.